Former President Donald Trump is even calling on the Justice Department to prosecute meat-packing companies. He thinks they might be to blame for climbing beef prices. According to the most recent data, beef prices have soared by over 60%. That dangerous trend has become a compelling political dynamic, potentially endangering Trump’s pledges to reduce food prices globally.
The inquiry is expected to examine possible consort violations among the milk-packing sector. Just four companies currently dominate over 80% of the beef slaughtering and packing market, raising concerns about market manipulation and unfair pricing practices. As a result, the country’s cattle inventory has fallen to its lowest level in almost 75 years. Ranchers are getting squeezed from all sides while retail prices for beef continue to skyrocket. New government data published today confirms that consumers are continuing to face extreme price increases for beef. Beef mince jumped up 12.9%, and beef steaks jumped 16.6% in the year to September.
In fact, rising costs have raised the average price of a pound of ground chuck to $6.33. Just one year ago, it was just $5.58. As you might expect, Trump has been furious in response. He has previously accused the meat-packing industry of illegal collusion, price fixing and price manipulation. He particularly focused on the need of U.S. ranchers to reduce the price of cattle to relieve some of the financial pressure consumers are under.
Trump zeroed in on beef prices as a major theme in his populist messaging. He links them to the larger issues of rising cost of living and food inflation. He’s been particularly forceful on the devastating cost to American families. He added, “We’ll continue standing up for our American Ranchers who are being scapegoated by the Majority Foreign Owned Meat Packers for skyrocketing prices that they’ve artificially raised and have jeopardized the security of our Nation’s food supply.”
The Biden administration didn’t walk away from the significant and well-identified problems. They instructed agencies to address corporate concentration across the food supply chain. Trump himself rescinded that order earlier this year. Even former President Joe Biden called for a probe into the nation’s top four meat packers. He took them to task for jacking up prices and fattening their margins throughout the pandemic as countless families struggled to make ends meet.
Ranchers have been hit hard, as a combination of drought conditions and years of industry contraction has pressured ranchers to sell off animals at an alarming rate. Ranchers are feeling the squeeze these days. Producers across the country are stuck between climbing input costs and their cows leaving, as numbers fall.
Trump is calling for a clamp down on the meat-packing sector. This would be a good thing as it would force attention to the real big challenges facing American ranchers and consumers. The stakes are enormous – the meatpacking industry stands to lose billions. It would change the broader economic picture around food costs.